It happens in a day, with only a few hours' warning: thousands and thousands of asteroids fall, most on the northern hemisphere. Anyone not underground is incinerated, as are most structures and living creatures. Huge tsunamis change coastlines. Near Edinburgh, Ed is one of the lucky few who has a basement, and he barricades his family there while the world burns. They are dug out after two weeks and live in a barracks with a few other families and some soldiers, but one day most are picked up by helicopter and flown to Cornwall, there to be shipped to the southern hemisphere as refugees. Ed and several others are out on a foraging trip and miss the evacuation, and they attempt to find their families by getting to Cornwall within a few weeks: a huge order with no working vehicles, no clear roadways, little food and water, and pockets of very scared and violent survivors. In the end, they decide to try to run the hundreds of miles to hopefully, and against all odds, arrive before the ships leave.

This motley group is comprised of a cross-section of humanity, not with professional athletes, so running, or even walking, for days on end is pure torture. As they move along, Ed narrates his own story and that of his companions', and we see how his mind copes with the fears and hallucinations brought on by starvation and panic. It's unclear until the last few pages whether anyone in the group will survive to become a refugee, and the end, which surprised me a bit, was perfect for this story. The characters are real and clearly drawn, and the action is realistic, frightening, and nerve-wracking. The only issue I had was with some overly-long descriptions of Ed's relationships with his wife and children, and with his tendency to criticize himself. A little of this kind of detail goes a long way, so at times I found myself skipping a few pages. But the impact of the entire story, including Ed's philosophizing with himself and with his companions (real and otherwise) more than makes up for this weakness, and I found myself greatly moved by the Ed's tale.

Thanks to Netgalley and the author for an ARC of this book. Ever watched one of those doomsdayer shows on tv where real people fervently prepare for the apocalypse of their choice? Well our main protagonist has, as a child, but is not prepared when things go awry for himself and the UK. Surviving the initial catastrophe alone was an accomplishment, but Edgar finds himself separated from his family and in the company of a few mad misfits must run the full length of Britain to find them again.
This book was ok. I liked all the British setting and details. I have read a few books of this type, almost exclusively so far set in America But I didn't like Edgar as a protagonist, nor his companions. The story didn't really ever grab me largely because of this. The book is about Edgar conquering his personal demons, but also about the lengths people will go to to survive..

Ultimately I really enjoyed this. It came out of the blue for me a bit and it was a random pick to read but I'm glad I did. Edgar is oddly quite a sympathetic character and I think it's his brutal honesty with himself that allows us to keep a bead on him. If not he would not be dislikeable but rather pitiable and forgettable. He's a reluctant father, absentee husband and just generally a bit of lazy, junk food eating, wine guzzling, overweight sofa parasite - until the world ends. It's then when he's separated from his family that he learns to value them, to value himself, to strive for health and to really test the limits of his endurance ...and none of it comes easy to him. This is another thing that holds the book together for me - there's no training montage halfway through where he suddenly finds himself, he's fighting himself every step of the way. The world ending is nothing compared to the enemy he's made of his own mind and body. It's pretty engaging stuff.

The other characters are great. Love Bryce and Harvey. Sad about Grimes. Quite a bunch of misfits without it being spelled out as such. This book tells you that you can do whatever you set your mind to without being ostentatious about it. It just never promises that it will be easy!

My only niggle is that about 30% of the way through there is a minor sag in pace. This is typically the point in writing a novel where the author has 30,000 word crisis syndrome (I know I do). Unfortunately it does still show here to some extent...and I nearly stopped reading.

I'm very glad I didn't. Walker races to the finish line and a very satisfying conclusion, all threads held firmly in hand. This is a good book; part dystopia, part action crisis, mostly journey of self discovery.

The first 15% was very compelling. But then with the time shift, the book just didn't hold my attention.